Chapter XXIII

1. NOT many more days passed, till Osiris called together his legions and gave them four days' recreation and a great feast, heavenly. And after the feast was over, he thus spake from his temporary throne on Mount Agho'aden, that is, a place in the sky over the earth mountains of Aghogan, in Parsi'e; complimenting them, saying:

2. In the light and power of life and death I speak! Greeting, in De'yus' name, highest of Gods! In his love, to glorify you all for your great victory, this feast was spread, and my voice upraised in your praise.

3. First, to thee, Baal, wise and powerful amongst Gods, for thy great energy and glorious success, do I bestow the Sign of the Sacred Bird, Iboi, to be thine forever. And next, to thee, Ashtaroth, the Goddess that never tireth, or is without a strategem, for thy glorious success I bestow thee with the fete, the circle and the true cross, to be thine forever.

4. To thee, Hermes, most unflinching of generals, second in rank to Lord, for thy victories won, I bestow the Inqua. To thee, Apollo-ya, I bequeath a bow and arrow, for thou shalt break the bonds of the creed of circumcision, and tempt mortals to wed by no law but by the impulse of the heart. For as the Faithists have been bound by their sign to marry not outside their own people, so shalt thou teach the opposite; for by the cross of the breeds of men, they shall be broken off from Jehovih.

5. To thee, Posee-ya-don, I bestow a model ship, for thou shalt have dominion over sea-faring men in all these divisions of the world. To thee, He-fa-yis-tie, I bestow a forge and tongs, for thy dominions over mortals shall be with the workers of metals and weapons of war.

6. To thee, Pluton-ya, I bestow a torch and brand of fire, for thou shalt rule over mortals for the destruction of cities and houses, to whomsoever will not bow down to De'yus as the highest God. To thee, Ura-na, queen of the es'enaurs, the very stars of my armies, I bestow a quill and staff, for thou shalt have dominion over the songs of the earth, inspiring mortals to sing praises unto the Lord our God.

7. After this manner Osiris went through the list, bestowing and assigning medals, and signs, and symbols, and emblems upon the generals and captains, and exalting many of the privates for daring deeds done, and for victories. And then Osiris allotted to the generals and captains tens of thousands of spirits especially adapted to their respective work; and he placed Baal and Ashtaroth as chiefs over p. 401 them. Next Osiris organized a new division of angels, an army of one hundred millions, distributed into one hundred parts, and called this army See-loo-gan, signifying spirits who travel about amongst mortals in systematic order, to measure them as to how best they can be used for the glory of the heavenly kingdoms; and to possess them, or hand them over to be obssessed, as may be deemed profitable.

8. At Pluton-ya's request, Osiris made his selection for him, and then further explained, saying: To thee, all privilege in thy line. If thou find fire not well suited to destroy a city, even though thousands of mortals be obsessed at the same time to fire it, then shalt thou suffer thy spirits to carry virus and inoculate mortals unto death; or to fill the city with epidemic air, well poisoned, throwing mortals into fevers so they shall die. For in all cases, whether Baal or Ashtaroth, or any of thy superior officers, say to thee: Destroy thou that city, or this city, or that family, or this family, or that man or this man; thou shalt so fall upon the man or place as commanded, and accomplish it.

9. And now, with due ceremonies, and with excellent music, the assemblage was commanded back to the earth to resume work. And Osiris' messengers bore the news to De'yus, well exaggerated, extolling the fidelity of Osiris to the highest.

10. From this time forth no masterly raids were made by the Osirians, but they improved the well-adapted times to give to mortals an abundance of wonders in angel manifestations; the which bait mortals caught at eagerly. And they were, for the most part, easily persuaded to follow angel advice, and so fell to work and built temples, and established oracles of their own; obliterating the doctrine of the Great Spirit, and substituting the words: The Lord God, and De'yus, and Anubi, his holy Son and Savior and Judge of the world; and Osiris, God's commanding Lord of the earth. And mortals traveled about throughout all regions, preaching and explaining spirit communion, and establishing the Anubian rites and ceremonies, but never using the names Great Spirit or Jehovih, save but to deride and accurse. The rites taught virtue, and love, and truth, and the acquisition of knowledge, but taught not peace, but war, which was maintained to be justifiable if done for the glory of the Lord, or for the Lord God, or for the Son, the Savior, Anubi, whose sign was a pair of scales, and who was sometimes called Judge, and Keeper of the Gate that led to the upper heaven, Hored.

11. Wherefore it came to pass that the mortal adherents of Osiris began to war on the Faithists and take their possessions. And inasmuch as the Faithists, by their pledges to Jehovih, dared not resist by weapons of death, but only by walls around their cities, and by strategems, and by running away, the Osirians had easy victories in most instances.

12. In ten years the Osirians began to build great cities, after the manner of the ancients; and to gather in their plunder taken from the Faithists.

13. And Osiris, and Baal, and Ashtaroth, through their angel hosts, chose from amongst mortals the largest and strongest, most war-like, and by means of the oracles, declared them kings and queens, and instructed them in building palaces and having thrones, after the manner of Lords and Gods. And directed mortals how to make themselves powerful by organization and obedience to the kings and queens, who were recognized as adopted sons and daughters of the Lord God.

14. Now it came to pass, in course of time, that in consequence of the great abundance of angel manifestations, mortals sought by this means to obtain knowledge of heaven and earth, and especially in regard to the end of man.

15. And the Osirian hosts, being the only angels engaged in the matter of establishing De'yus, answered them, saying: The life and the end of man are to glorify God, who is Lord of heaven and earth.

16. And the mortals pressed the matter further, asking: Who is God? What are the worlds? Whence came all things? How were the creation and the Creator?

17. For an answer to these questions, Osiris sent messengers to the Lord God in Hored; whereupon De'yus called a Council of his God and Lords, to meet in Hored, to solve the matter, that a uniform answer might be given unto all the divisions of the earth.

18. In the meantime, and before the Council assembled, the self (satan) of De'yus spake to him, saying: If thou admit a Creator save thyself, thou art undone. For is this not the point whereon hang the power and dominion of Jehovih? The Lord God inquired of satan, saying: Why spakest thou not of this before? Behold, the Great Spirit signifieth everywhere. But I am only as a man, small, compared to the size of the worlds!

20. De'yus said: But this is not truth? When thou persuadest me to assume dominion of earth, thou saidst: Be thou Truth in all things. How, then, shall I say, I created heaven and earth? Satan said: When Osiris hath come before thee, say thou to him: Who hast thou found amongst mortals to be the greatest and wisest, best su'is? And when he telleth thee, say thou to him: Osiris, my son, him thou sayest is the greatest su'is shalt thou inspire in person. And thou shalt cause him to write answers to the questions of mortals, that the learned and the ignorant alike may know me and my kingdoms. Behold, before my time both heaven and earth were void as to a Godhead, save to the servants of Jehovih. And because they were void in this respect, thou shalt persuade thy seers to know I created them from voidance unto mine own glory.